


Nightmares and Restless Minds

by writersblock101



Series: "Why Couldn't I Have Been an Only Child?" [4]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Brother Relationships, Duke is a good brother, I don't fucking know her and choose to ignore her all the time, I like the idea of Jason's autopsy scar, Jason has a nightmare, Jason's inner dialog is really fun to write, Sibling Love, Who is she?, also a time line?, also his eyes glow in the dark, fight me about it, flashlight boi, jason is a good big brother, poor Duke was just trying to watch some TV, that no one warned Duke about lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-02-23 08:47:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23175469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writersblock101/pseuds/writersblock101
Summary: After waking from another pleasant coffin nightmare, Jason rolls out of bed, expecting to go watch TV by himself but instead finds the newest Wayne adoptee already watching TV to distract himself.
Relationships: Duke Thomas & Jason Todd
Series: "Why Couldn't I Have Been an Only Child?" [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1664611
Comments: 18
Kudos: 189





	Nightmares and Restless Minds

**Author's Note:**

> Don't ask me about the timeline in terms of Duke's parents, just go with it.

_Jason gasps as his body jerks awake, sore from being still for so long. He can’t see, everything is dark. Where is he? Why is it dark?! He tries to lift his arms, but he’s in a box. A box? Why is he in a box?! Does anyone know he’s here?! It’s too dark, it’s too tight!_

_Jason screams, banging on the top of the box. Dirt drifts into the box. Dirt?! Oh, God. Jason is underground. How far? He can’t breathe, he can’t see, someone please HELP HIM!_

_His nails scratch at the top of the box, splinters forcing themselves under Jason’s nails. His fingers begin bleeding, his lungs are burning, and his throat is on fire, but Jason doesn’t care because he needs out!_

_It’s too tight, too dark, too close-- Jason can’t see, Jason can’t breathe, he can’t feel his toes, his fingers are bleeding, his throat is burning. Crazed laughter echoed around him. No, not him. He’s in here with Jason! Get him out! Get him out! Someone, please help him! Someone, please help him! He needs out, out, OUT--_

Jason jerks awake, his heart pounding. His arms shoot out only to hit bed. He’s not in a coffin. He’s not underground. Jason is in his room at the Manor. He’s okay. 

He groans, rubbing his face as his eyes adjust to the dark room. While Jason has his fair share of nightmares, the worst ones are when he wakes up in his coffin. But Jason isn’t in his coffin. 

He sighs, laying his head back. While he still feels exhausted, Jason doesn’t trust his mind to not throw him right back into that dream. He groans, knowing the longer he lays in bed, the more likely he will fall asleep again. 

Tossing back the covers, Jason stumbles to his feet, scratches his bare chest then walks out of his room, downstairs to the living room, only to find Duke already awake, watching TV. 

Duke jumps at the sight of Jason, nearly falling off the couch. 

“Holy shit!” He curses. “Jason?!” 

“Uh...Yeah.” 

“Sorry… I uh… Didn’t know your eyes glowed in the dark…” Duke trails off, rubbing the back of his head. “I also didn’t know you were in the Manor tonight.” 

“Yeah, I’ve been doing some work in Gotham,” Jason shrugs. “And the eyes are a result of the pit.” 

“Right…” Duke trails off, looking awkward. 

_Nice going, dickweed. You gonna tell him every detail about how the Joker killed you next? Or maybe how it felt when you crawled out of the Pit--_

“What are you doing up?” Jason frowns, distracting himself from his self-loathing thoughts. “Don’t you usually work during the day?” 

Duke shrugs, playing with the edge of the blanket sprawled across his lap. 

“Yeah… Couldn’t sleep.” 

“Me neither,” Jason agrees. 

“You wanna join?” Duke invites. “I’m watching _Yes Man._ ” 

“The Jim Carey movie?” Jason clarifies. 

Duke looks sheepish now. 

“It was one of my dad’s favorites.” 

_Wow, I am really on a roll when it comes to making this kid uncomfortable._

“It’s a funny movie,” Jason says to reassure him, despite not being a big Jim Carey fan. 

“So… You wanna watch?” Duke invites hesitantly. 

He stares into the room for a moment, his body still mostly hidden in the dark. Duke hasn’t seen the ridiculous amount of scars on Jason, but there’s only one scar that Jason is apprehensive for him to see, the only scar the pit didn’t heal: his autopsy scar. He’s never been able to explain why the pit could erase every other mark on his body aside from the autopsy scar. At this point, he writes it off as the universe having a sadistic sense of humor. 

Duke is going to see the scar at some point, it’s inevitable. But he’s just so… normal compared to the rest of this batshit crazy family that Jason wants to preserve that instead of waltzing into the room with a fucking autospy scar. Why couldn’t the pit get rid of this scar? Why was he left with the reminder that he got killed by the fucking clown? 

Jason sighs, but steps into the room. He sees Duke's eyes widen at the sight of his chest, but he quickly returns his attention to the TV and pulls back the blanket as an invitation. Jason sits down, grateful that Duke didn’t try to ask about the scar or say anything comforting. 

Duke just became his new favorite sibling. 

They watch the next few minutes of the movie in silence, Duke and Jason occasionally laughing at the antics on screen before Duke breaks the silence between them. 

“So, do you want to talk about it?” He asks slowly. 

“Talk about what?” Jason responds gruffly, playing dumb. 

Duke doesn’t take the out. 

“Why you couldn’t sleep?” 

“No.” 

They fall back into silence. 

Jason isn’t a touchy feely kind of person. He never has been. No, he doesn’t want to sit around and talk about his feelings. Props to Duke for even asking, he _guesses_ , but quite frankly, it’s none of the kid’s business. New ward of Bruce Wayne or not, Jason doesn’t know Duke so he’s not going to spill his guts to the kid. 

He’s a well meaning kid, and Tim seems to like him so Jason guesses that counts for something. Unlike the rest of the Wayne adoptees, Duke’s life before meeting Bruce was good and normal, then, of course, the Joker had to ruin all of that with a vendetta against Batman. 

Although Jason is glad that Duke’s parents aren’t dead, he’s really not sure if their state of being is better than not being dead. Would he rather be driven crazy by the idea that his parents are out there but not themselves, or just be resolute with the fact that they are dead? It’s no wonder Duke starting acting out-- that constant torture would drive Jason insane. He knew what ends he would go through to find his mom, he can’t imagine what Duke is feeling to find both of his parents. 

Jason has lived through Bruce’s collasal fuck ups as a parent and the man's parenting skills improve at a damn snail’s pace. You would’ve thought after six kids and counting, Burce would have a better handle on how to parent traumatized children (or just normal ass kids), but he hasn’t, so Jason supposes that’s where he, Dick, Cass, and Tim come in. 

Bruce didn’t provide a healthy emotional outlet for any of them and now all of them are fucked up in all sorts of unique ways, so if swallowing his pride and talking to Duke will show Duke that Jason is someone he can turn to in moments where Bruce is a dumbass, then Jason is going to take it. Just because all of them are fucked up doesn’t mean this kid has to be too. 

Jason sighs. 

“How much do you know about me, kid?” 

Duke hesitates, taking a moment to think before he speaks. _Smart kid._

“I know you were the second Robin and that Bruce found you living on the streets. I also know that the Joker murdered you and you came back to life from the Lazarus Pit then went after Batman. Also pretty sure you tried to kill Tim a couple of times…” 

Jason chuckles. 

“Don’t worry, Timbo and I are on good terms now. We had pancakes and everything.” 

Duke chuckles nervously. 

“But part of your story is wrong. The Lazarus Pit didn’t bring me back to life. I took a swim in it, but it’s not what brought me back to life.” 

“...What did bring you back to life then?” Duke slowly asks. 

Jason shrugs. 

“Dunno, I’ve never been able to figure it out. All I know is I woke up in my coffin, not knowing where I was, who I was, or what happened.” 

“Is that what…?” 

“Yeah, it’s a pretty common one.” 

Duke sits with Jason in silence. 

“I’m sorry,” He finally says. 

Jason snorts. 

“For what? You weren’t there.” 

“Dunno…” Duke says quietly. “It just felt right to say.” 

“You didn’t have to say anything.” 

They lapse back to silence, the sound of the movie distracting them then Jason opens his mouth again. 

“Why couldn’t you sleep?” 

“I couldn’t shut my brain off,” Duke admits. 

“Yeah? What’s keeping you up?” 

“A lot of things,” Duke shrugs. “It’s been hard trying to adjust to…” He gestures to the grandiose room. “All of this… It’s all too…” Duke trails off. 

“Nice?” Jason offers. 

“Yeah,” Duke agrees. “I didn’t grow up on the streets like you, my parents had a place, but it was an apartment on the bad side of Gotham. Going from that to this is…” He trails off again, but Jason gets it. 

He remembers when he first tried to sleep in his bed here. At first, he thought he was in paradise-- a warm bed, good food, clean clothes, but when he tried to sleep, his body was _too_ comfortable. Jason didn’t even know that would be a thing. It took a few weeks of sleeping on the floor, then sleeping with a blanket, then a pillow and a blanket before Jason could build himself up enough to sleep in the bed with all the pillows and blankets. Now, it doesn’t bother him where he sleeps, but he remembers the adjustment. It’s a strange one. 

“It won’t always be like that,” Jason promises. “You’ll get adjusted and eventually, it’ll actually feel like home.” 

“Does it feel like home for you?” 

Jason pauses, mulling over his answer. 

He called the Manor home for five years, and they were five pretty good years. He and Bruce fought, like any person who has ever come into contact with Bruce, but Jason always knew he had a place to stay, a bed to sleep in, and at least one warm smile. Given all the events between him and Bruce and despite the repaired relationships, Jason still feels like an intruder in the Manor. Everything is so pristine and perfect and Jason is so… Not. 

But there’s always that familiarity of knowing which steps creek in the staircase or being familiar with the trapeze bars Bruce installed in Dick’s room when he was first adopted or the grandfather clock that leads to the Batcave or which shelves Alfred hid sweets. 

“I think the Manor will always be home for me,” Jason glances over at Duke and nudges his shoulder. “And it will be for you too, no matter what.” 

Duke smiles at Jason then the two resume watching the movie in comfortable silence. In the morning. Bruce wanders downstairs to find both his boys asleep and leaning against each other on the couch. He smiles and covers them with a blanket. 

Their family was weird and dysfunctional, but his children would do anything for each other, something that always makes Bruce swell with pride. They had lost everything, but at the end of the day, they always had each other. 

**Author's Note:**

> Got any request or ideas for our favorite superhero family to get up to? Sent me a message on tumblr @writingblock101


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